It's just as simple as driving in the non-HOV fast lane. On the few occasions I've found myself needing/wanting to drive in the HOV lane, I make sure I'm driving at the rate of the rest of the HOV lane. If I want to drive slow, then that's what the far right lane is for. If I want to bypass a traffic jam, then I accept that I'll be speeding up. Of course on the 405, usually traffic jams on all the non-HOV lanes means the HOV lane will be just as jammed up too, or at least significantly slower than normal. In CA, however, you're legally locked into the HOV lane until the next entrance/exit. So if someone is driving slower than you (sometimes busses, sometimes cars, and not always *just* hybrids), you're stuck, unless you cross the double-yellow and go around.

This sounds like just a puff piece. Anecdotally, most Prius drivers I see on my commute are flying by me at 70mph+. And the ones I see in HOV lanes are going just as fast too.

Rick